Club Mgmt. Board of Directors as led by President Dave Barham - Statement from Barham addressing Merrett etc - 12/9

[Lore]

Spoiler: Timeline of events

• 15/8: President, Paul Brasher resigns, replaced by Dave Barham who foreshadows external review
  • Votes for Brasher: Peter Allen, Simon Madden, Sean Wellman
    Sean Wellman

    Age

    51

    Ht

    193cm

    Wt

    90kg

    Pos.

    Def

    Career

    Season

    Last 5

    D

    14.1

    4star

    K

    9.7

    4star

    HB

    4.5

    3star

    M

    4.5

    4star

    T

    1.0

    3star

    No current season stats available

    D

    8.0

    2star

    K

    4.4

    2star

    HB

    3.6

    3star

    M

    2.6

    3star

    T

    0.8

    3star

  • Votes for Barham: Andrew Muir, Dorothy Hisgrove, Melissa Green, Kate O’Sullivan, Kevin Sheedy
• 21/8: Senior Coach, Ben Rutten
  Ben Rutten

  Age

  42

  Ht

  190cm

  Wt

  98kg

  Pos.

  Def

  Career

  Season

  Last 5

  D

  13.4

  3star

  K

  6.3

  2star

  HB

  7.0

  4star

  M

  5.3

  5star

  T

  1.3

  3star

  No current season stats available

  D

  10.6

  3star

  K

  6.2

  3star

  HB

  4.4

  4star

  M

  3.6

  4star

  T

  1.0

  3star

  sacked
• 24/8: CEO, Xavier Campbell resigns
• 24/8: Directors to resign
  • Paul Brasher, immediately
  • Simon Madden, immediately
  • Sean Wellman, after new football director is appointed
  • Peter Allen, after AGM & finance portfolio handover in December
• 26/8: Details of coaching selection committee appointment
  • Sub-committee of 6: Josh Mahoney
    Josh Mahoney

    Age

    48

    Ht

    180cm

    Wt

    83kg

    Pos.

    Fwd

    Career

    Season

    Last 5

    D

    11.3

    3star

    K

    6.8

    3star

    HB

    4.5

    3star

    M

    3.5

    4star

    T

    1.6

    4star

    G

    0.9

    4star

    No current season stats available

    D

    9.2

    3star

    K

    5.4

    2star

    HB

    3.8

    3star

    M

    2.2

    3star

    T

    1.6

    4star

    G

    0.4

    3star

    (Chair, GM-Footy), Robert Walls, Jordan Lewis
    Jordan Lewis

    Age

    39

    Ht

    186cm

    Wt

    86kg

    Pos.

    D/M

    Career

    Season

    Last 5

    D

    23.5

    5star

    K

    12.1

    4star

    HB

    11.5

    5star

    M

    5.5

    5star

    T

    2.7

    4star

    MG

    310.5

    4star

    No current season stats available

    D

    15.0

    4star

    K

    6.8

    3star

    HB

    8.2

    5star

    M

    4.8

    5star

    T

    2.8

    5star

    , Simone McKinnis OAM, Andrew Thorburn and Dorothy Hisgrove (board member).
• 26/8: Details of external review process
  • Ernst & Young to coordinate with support from Andrew Thorburn, working closely with Nick Ryan (Acting CEO) & Dorothy Hisgrove (board member)
  • Focusing on four areas: (1) Board effectiveness & composition, (2) a review of leadership, operations and culture including the footy department, (3) the senior coach appointment and (4) the new CEO appointment.
• 26/9: Andrew Welsh appointed to the board of directors, replacing Simon Madden
• 29/9: Brad Scott appointed as Senior Coach
• 30/9: Kevin Sheedy claims decision to appoint Brad Scott was 6-1 against him
• 3/10: Andrew Thorburn appointed as CEO - alternative link
• 3/10: “External review to be handed to the board next week”: Andrew Thorburn, Crichton Medal Address
• 4/10: Andrew Thorburn resigns as CEO
• 11/10: External review preliminary findings
• 24/10: External review preliminary findings II
• 2/11: Dan McPherson appointed as General Manager of Performance & Cam Roberts as Head of Development
• 11/11: Dean Rioli appointed to the board of directors, replacing Paul Brasher
• 14/11: Tim Roberts & David Wills appointed to the board of directors, replacing Sean Wellman and Paul Allen respectively
• 28/11: Dorothy Hisgrove announced as first female vice-president (at the Essendon Women's Best and Fairest night)
• 1/12: Craig Vozzo appointed as CEO
• 13/12: Board director election results: Andrew Welsh and Andrew Muir elected
• 15/5: The club's First Nations Advisory Council established, to be led by Dean Rioli (chair, Indigenous board member), and including: Leanne Brooke (EFC EGM – Community & The Long Walk. Essendon FC), Dorothy Hisgrove (EFC VP and National Manager Partner KPMG), Kane Ellis (CEO of Illawarra Aboriginal Medical Service), John Evans (Pro Vice-Chancellor Indigenous Engagement at Swinburne) and Che Cockatoo-Collins (EM, Indigenous Affairs NBN, EFC Past Player)
• 16/5: Board of Directors declare support for the First Nations Voice to Parliament, after consultation with the new First Nations Advisory Council
• 28/8: EGM - Football, Josh Mahoney has accepted a role as GM Football Operations at the AFL
• 10/10: GM - Performance Daniel McPherson, and Head of AFLW/AFL Operations Manager Aysha Ward have been elevated to the club executive as joint leaders of the club's football department, as GM-AFL and GM-AFLW respectively

 

[The Prosecutor]

Aye. So I think we have clearly got three factions at play.

Who's the third?

 

[Lore]

What's the third one?

Brasher etc
Barham etc
Sheedy etc

 

[Lore]

Or if not Barham then someone else that is team Mahoney and still at the club

 

[jmoo wan]

Aye. So I think we have clearly got three factions at play.

isn’t there 5 people left? a faction of one isn’t a faction… it’s just a loser.

 

[The Prosecutor]

Brasher etc
Barham etc
Sheedy etc

TBF, hard to say 2/3 are different at this point.

 

[Old Campaigner]

Travis Auld (CEO)
Adam Yze (Coach)
Mark Williams
James Hird (Not as senior coach)
Mark Mcveigh
Jarryd Mcveigh

I think i want all these 6

Happy for James to be involved as an assistant or in some ithe role at the club

Letting Hird anywhere near the club in any capacity that isn't senior coach would be utterly destablising because there would be a conga line of coteries trying to pull strings, undermine the actual coach and plonk Hird into the role.

 

[Lore]

isn’t there 5 people left? a faction of one isn’t a faction… it’s just a loser.

At board level there’s six, but I would regard factional alignment throughout senior management and coterie groups as still being factions (potentially also players though they seem fairly united)

 

[Lore]

TBF, hard to say 2/3 are different at this point.

The pro-Hird and the not pro-Hird, they have overlap in that they’re both anti-Rutten

 

[Old Campaigner]

Brasher etc
Barham etc
Sheedy etc

I think it's more of a venn diagram of pro-Hird, pro external review, and pro Rutten, except no one is in the middle, and I doubt anyone is simultaneously pro Hird and supportive of an external review.

 

[Lore]

I think it's more of a venn diagram of pro-Hird, pro external review, and pro Rutten, except no one is in the middle, and I doubt anyone is simultaneously pro Hird and supportive of an external review.

You could view it that way yes, there’s definitely some overlap on certain motivations

 

[citizen-erased]

Robbo on if Mahoney or Dodoro will survive: "I think Dodoro will stay. He's got supporters on the board... Barham is a big fan and Sheedy is a supporter".

Apparently people have been saying he's doing a good job when we're winning and now not.

Robbo laying it on thick. He's a mouthpiece. Who has thought dodoro has done a good job.....ever.

 

[citizen-erased]

Auld v swann for ceo?

 

[Old Campaigner]

Apparently people have been saying he's doing a good job when we're winning and now not.

Robbo laying it on thick. He's a mouthpiece. Who has thought dodoro has done a good job.....ever.

A good chunk of this board up to a few years ago.

 

[Lore]

A good chunk of this board up to a few years ago.

I still don’t necessarily think he does a bad job of identifying talent. Building a team that works with each other and can execute what the coach is trying to teach (without the fitness department having to stack 20kg on too-light frames) is a separate matter.

 

[citizen-erased]

A good chunk of this board up to a few years ago.

Pah.

 

[citizen-erased]

I still don’t necessarily think he does a bad job of identifying talent. Building a team that works with each other and can execute what the coach is trying to teach (without the fitness department having to stack 20kg on too-light frames) is a separate matter.

Id argue the talent identification is not his kpi.
Managing the cap, turnover of the list to keep it competitive and not having critical holes for years on end would be how you'd judge him.

 

[yodellinhank]

I still don’t necessarily think he does a bad job of identifying talent. Building a team that works with each other and can execute what the coach is trying to teach (without the fitness department having to stack 20kg on too-light frames) is a separate matter.

Had a fair bit of disruption to who is trying to teach what. Plus sanctions. Criticism of the list always seems to be out of whack too, eg "They need a key defensive post" - you'd hope it's something we can develop from within given with the pieces already available.

 

[Keystone agony]

Letting Hird anywhere near the club in any capacity that isn't senior coach would be utterly destablising because there would be a conga line of coteries trying to pull strings, undermine the actual coach and plonk Hird into the role.

Yeh fair i was hopeful we could remove most of that group and that Choco Williams could be the man who doesnt allow this to happen

 

[Lore]

Id argue the talent identification is not his kpi.
Managing the cap, turnover of the list to keep it competitive and not having critical holes for years on end would be how you'd judge him.

Critical holes, future-proofing, political crap, not being able to play nice with the coaches and footy managers he’s had over the years, etc etc. there’s plenty to find issue with and I’d rather keep Mahoney than Dodoro. We have RFK anyway, although I suppose he might leave too if Dodoro does

 

[CBombers17]

Whatever changes have been made with RFK and the setup seems to be working. Hobbs, Martin, Caldwell, Durham all recent.

Ive been as over our recruitment philosophy as anyone (build the spne first and chase big names etc but personally I think it's now heading in thr right direction.

 

[citizen-erased]

Critical holes, future-proofing, political crap, not being able to play nice with the coaches and footy managers he’s had over the years, etc etc. there’s plenty to find issue with and I’d rather keep Mahoney than Dodoro. We have RFK anyway, although I suppose he might leave too if Dodoro does

Or gets a promotion?

 

[Duckworth]

As long as the next coach isn't James Hird I approve of everything going on.

What if he went through a legitimate process, and was deemed the best candidate at the end of it?

 

[citizen-erased]

What if he went through a legitimate process, and was deemed the best candidate at the end of it?

Review the review?

 

[The Prosecutor]

Dodoro's success or lack thereof is not even the main reason for moving him on at this point. How many members of the football department has he white anted, clashed with and moved against during his tenure?

Not to mention him seemingly having a direct line to the board beyond his boss.

He's a malignant cultural tumour that needs removing.

 

[Lore]

What if he went through a legitimate process, and was deemed the best candidate at the end of it?

What legitimate process would conclude that the most qualified candidate is someone who has coached a handful of games in the last 7 years?